What color hat did the wizard you just imagined wear? Mine wore purple. I’m not sure why, but it is certainly a purple hat.

Your wizard may have worn a red hat, a blue hat or even a grey hat (shout out to all of those Gandalf fans); but undoubtably, we all thought something.

Chances are our wizards are not too unlike the other. In fact, I can almost guaranteed we share more similarities in our thoughts about the wizard than we do differences.

Therein lies the power of brand archetypes – the power to instantly and powerfully draw unrelated thoughts together and land them into a comparatively small thoughtspace.

Brand Archetypes embody the universal stories and journeys all human beings share. Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, Sancho Panza in Don Quixote or even Huckleberry Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are all stories that we share as a culture and relate to as human being.

Brand Archetypes explain the unfamiliar (the brand) in terms of the familiar (the archetype). They take the form of “X is Y” rather than “X is like Y,” even when the metaphor isn’t that direct.

They give us a common place to work from and help align organizations and their customers.Very simply, brand archetypes can reveal how a brand shows up in the real world and facilitates the relationship between an organization and their audience.

A vast amount of thought, strategy, observation, time, discussion and capital go into developing a brand archetype. It is not an easy endeavor. However, the payoff from all of that investment is immense.

Imagine for a moment if you were instantly and powerfully able to translate the complexities of your products, services and story to your customers in an overtly simple, clear and highly relatable way.

If you could create a steady flow of engagement that produced authentic comprehension of your brand rather than the ordinary strategy of intermittent interruption that produces spotty understanding. Wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity?

Brand archetypes provide that pathway. A pathway between those imaginative thoughts and the reality of your brand. A brighter, clearer and more engaged future for your relationships with your customers.

Although my wizard wears purple and yours may wear red, we can agree that there is magic in the brand archetype.